June 30, 2015

Congratulations to all of the ports that submitted winning entries into the 2015 AAPA Communications Awards Program competition!

The recipient of the 2015 Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence "traveling" trophy - the top award in AAPA's Communications Awards Program - is the Port of Los Angeles. Recieving AAPA's 2015 Overall Communications Award of Distinction trophy is the Belledune Port Authority in New Brunswick, while the AAPA 2015 Overall Communications Award of Merit trophy goes to the Hamilton Port Authority in Ontario.

All of the winners in this year's competition will be recognized in a narrated PowerPoint pressentation on Nov. 4 at AAPA's Awards Luncheon during its 104rd Annual Convention & Expo in MiamiFlorida, which runs Nov. 2-4, 2015.

June 25, 2015

AAPA 2015 CONVENTION has been set for Nov. 2-4 in downtown Miami at the Intercontinental Hotel. It is a big deal. The 2015 Convention in Miami will represent the 104th in AAPA’s history.

AAPA’s 2015 Convention includes technical and policy committee meetings, as well as business sessions and social networking possibilities for port professionals and others in the marine transportation industry. This year, more than 500 attendees are expected, mainly senior and executive management personnel from port authorities and suppliers to the port and marine industries.

Bait and switch

When PortMiami and the MiamiInternationalAirport pulled out of financially support the World Trade Center Miami’s annual State of the Port Luncheon we wondered what would happen to the bi-annual Sea Cargo and Air Cargo Americas program also underwritten by the port. Who would have thought that the WorldTradeCenter would use the Port-sponsored AAPA convention as bait for an overlapping port and trade event featuring the seaport, the airport, Gov. Rick Scott and Bill Johnson?

Or maybe they just got confused about the dates

Either way, the show hours for the AAPA conference are Monday, November 2, evening reception in the exhibit hall; Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, November 4, 7:30 a.m. – Noon.

Those will be followed by welcome remarks from Rick Scott, Governor, State of Florida who will be introduced by …. You guessed it! … Bill Johnson, Secretary of Commerce, State of Florida; President and CEO, Enterprise Florida, Inc.

At 9:00 a.m., a panel of distinguished transportation and logistics experts will present their views of current trends in trade, the supply chain and transportation, as well as their visions, strategies and forecasts for the growth of the air cargo and sea cargo in the Western Hemisphere for the next two years. The panelists will provide forecasts on the following markets:

Those AAPA attendees who don’t need to check out or to attend the morning Nov. 4 sessions downtown will be able to drive over and hear Jaime Alvarez P., Senior Director Cargo, Copa Airlines; Donald Francey, Head of Key Clients, Sealand (invited); Jose Perez-Jones, Senior Vice President, Seaboard Marine; Mathieu Floreani, CEO for the Americas, DHL Global Forwarding; Ian Morgan, VP Cargo The Americas, Qatar Airways (invited); talk about trends, visions, strategis and forecasts under the direction of Richard Roffman, Publisher, LatinTradeReport.com, as well as Co-host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show “Made in America”.

According to AAPA, its Annual Convention and Expo is recognized as the premier gathering of the seaport industry. “If your customer targets include seaports, marine terminal operators, integrators, suppliers and other industry stakeholders, exhibiting at the American Association of Port Authorities Annual Convention will provide you direct access to the top decision makers--port commissioners and senior level port professional, integrator, supplier, and other stakeholder staff from throughout the Western Hemisphere. We understand that in today's competitive economic climate, strategic and cost-effective marketing has never been more necessary. AAPA is here to guide you and insure your successful expo experience, from exhibit sales through to exhibit floor coordination.”

“The Annual Convention and Expo is AAPA's largest membership meeting of the year. Held every fall in a different port city, the Convention includes technical and policy committee meetings, business sessions and social events allowing port professionals and stakeholders in the marine transportation industry to exchange views and expand business contacts. The Expo is an integral part of the convention program providing opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas.”

An evening reception will be held in the exhibit hall on Monday, November 2. During the business program on November 3-4, 2015, breakfasts, breaks, and 2 pre-luncheon networking events are all held in the AAPA Exhibit Hall. Exhibitors are invited to attend, complimentary, the Convention Business Program.

According to the WorldTradeCenter, Miami, Air & Sea Cargo Americas will bring together top executives from all sectors of the aviation, maritime and logistics industries to exchange views and experiences to enhance the growth of the cargo industry in the Western Hemisphere. Airports, seaports, exporters, shipping lines, freight forwarders, shippers, importers, consignees, equipment and technology suppliers, among others, will interact, exchanging ideas and information. Topics will include security, regional consolidation, manufacturer and shipper needs in high growth cargo, trade facilitation, improving productivity, speed and service quality, responding to market changes and demands from shippers, consolidators and forwarders, and controlling costs while streamlining customer services.

Air & Sea Cargo Americas will be held on November 4 - 6, 2015 at the Miami Airport & Convention Center. The conference and show is designed to:

Increase two-way cargo growth and international business in the Americas

Present updates on the latest security and safety regulations being used in the Western Hemisphere to secure cargo from the intrusion of biological, chemical or explosive materials

Provide a forum on international aviation, maritime and logistics issue in the Western Hemisphere.

According to the Air and Sea Cargo web site its steering committee includes:

All proceeds will benefit the Florida Veterans Foundation a State of Florida non-profit created under the IRS Code 501(c)(3) that provides direct support to our Veterans and their families as well as the sponsor of the South Florida Homeless Veterans Stand Down scheduled for May 1-3, 2015. Visit the Foundation Website at http://www.floridaveteransfoundation.org for specific information on programs and services.

To make a monetary contribution and/or register Cargo Donations for this event please visit the Florida Veterans Foundation Donation links:

December 17, 2014

The US and Cuba have announced a broad agreement between the countries that will be a first and historic step toward normalizing relations after more than 50 years of hostility. Here are the basics of what each country has agreed to, as is known so far:

Mariel Port, major competition

What the US will give Cuba

Diplomatic opening: The U.S. will take steps toward restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba, severed since 1961. The travel ban will still be in place, as will the embargo, but the embargo's impact will be eased. And some preexisting exceptions to the travel ban will be expanded.
Embassy in Havana: This will include the goal of reopening a US embassy in Havana in the coming months. The embassy has been closed for over half a century.
Release alleged Cuban spies: The US will release three Cubans who were convicted of espionage and imprisoned in the US: Gerardo Hernandez, Luis Medina, and Antonio Guerrero. All three prisoners were members of the "Wasp Network," a group that spied on prominent members of the Cuban-American community. CNN reports that Hernandez, the group's leader, was also linked to the downing of two two civilian planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based dissident group.
Easing business and travel restrictions: The U.S. will make it easier for Americans to obtain licenses to do business in Cuba, and to travel to the island. CNN reports that the new rules still won't permit American tourism, but will make it easier to visit for other purposes.
Easing banking restrictions: Americans will be able to use credit and debit cards while in Cuba.
Higher remittance limits: Americans will be able to send up to $2000 per year to family members in Cuba. Cuban-American remittances are a major source of income for many Cuban families.
Small-scale imports of Cuban cigars and alcohol: US travelers will be able to import up to $400 in goods from Cuba, including $100 in alcohol and tobacco products.
Review of basis for sanctions: Secretary of State John Kerry has been ordered to review Cuba's status as a "state sponsor of terrorism." If his review determines that Cuba no longer deserves that status, that will be a first step towards lifting at least some US sanctions.
What Cuba will give the US

Release Alan Gross: US contractor Alan Gross had been imprisoned in Cuba for the last five years on charges of attempting to undermine the Cuban government. His detention has been a major issue for the US and the Obama administration. He has been released and is on his way back to the United States.
Release political prisoners: Cuba will release 53 political prisoners from a list provided by the United States. CNN also reports that Cuba is releasing a US intelligence source who has been imprisoned in Cuba for more than 20 years, but it is not clear whether that individual was one of the 53 included on the list.
Increased internet access: Cuba will allow its citizens increased access to the internet. The US has long sought this as a means of increasing pressure within Cuba for democratic reform.
Access by the UN: Cuba will allow officials from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to return to its territory.
POLITICS

March 10, 2014

Richard Branson, one of the world’s leading businessmen and investors, is reportedly in talks with Abu Dhabi entities to raise $1.7 billon to start a cruise line. The Virgin cruise ships would be aimed at younger people who do not cruise.

Branson told The National, “We are looking at a very different kind of cruise company. We’re trying to create the kind of cruise ship that would be attractive to the kind of people who would never consider a cruise at the moment.”

Branson is best known for starting Virgin Records in 1972, Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1994, Virgin Mobile in 1999, and the first of its kind in space tourism Virgin Galactic in 2004.

The $1.7 billion would be used to create a new cruise line starting with 2 cruise ships, one that will serve the popular Caribbean market and the other the Mediterranean. The cruise ships would be new vessels, not refurbished ones purchased from a current cruise line. Eventually, Brandon would like to expand into the Gulf market.

- See more at: http://cruisefever.net/0303-richard-branson-looking-into-starting-a-cruise-line/#sthash.Eqa57VLQ.dpuf

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/natl/flash-vis.html- check out this weather link

By Rick Eyerdam
In the next few days Norwegian Cruise Lines is going to board some brave passengers and crew aboard the brand new Norwegian Getaway in Germany and pretend the giant tub of a cruise ship is actually an ocean liner.
Bud Light has agreed to rent the still-being-built, 146,000-ton Norwegian Getaway and use it as a floating hotel for 4,000 weekend guests in New York across the pond.

According to Vanessa Lame, a Norwegian spokeswoman. It’s scheduled to arrive in New York Jan. 26. and that could be right in the middle of a full scale freezing gale when it waddles into port after being battered by giant Force 6 gale winds and 30 foot waves for some of the 10 day crossing.

Once they fix the damage then Anheuser-Busch teams will rush aboard and re-brand it as the Bud Light Floating Hotel, with Bud Light logos on towels, pillow cases, shampoo bottles and everywhere else.

The outside of the ship will carry the Bud Light signage, and some of the interior carpets will even be replaced with shades of Budweiser blue.

“We looked at hotels in New York and couldn’t find a property that met our ambitions,” said David Daniels, marketing director for Bud Light. “So we decided to bring the hotel to New York, and we found the largest and grandest ship we could find.”
Well actually the company leased a floating hotel that has never endured a sea trial and certainly never endured a winter North Atlantic crossing. Days after docking it must behave like a hotel after that daunting crossing and that is saying a lot.

A cruise ship is not an ocean liner

Cruise ships are floating amusement parks designed to keep passengers entertained who don't want to actually set foot on Haiti or Nassau. They are huge, bulky, shallow draft, broad a beam and prone to systems failure and contagious viruses. They are not ocean liners. Ocean liners are graceful, beamy ships designed to travel in any sea condition at a high rate of speed. When you add great sea keeping ability to great speed and then add elegance you get the best of the best. This does not define a cruise ship. Today's greatest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, waddled across the North Atlantic back in 2009 and hit a typical fall storm. Since it is not an ocean liner and could not go hide behind a Caribbean island, it turned into the wind and held its place until the storm passed, a surrender to the sea that kept most of the fancy decor in place on its bulkheads. Unable to advance through the rough North Atlantic, it arrived safe but late. Any old ocean liner would have kicked its but, if the mail contract was on the line.

This is what an ocean liner looks like

Budweiser hopes to berth the cruise ship at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum berthed next door at Pier 86. When the gets it repaired, the Norwegian cruise ship, which completed construction at a shipyard in Germany in late January, is expected to be one of the largest and most technologically advanced passenger vessels in the world, boasting 18 decks, 22 bars and lounges and 27 dining menus (in addition to spas, waterslides, fun zones and other typical cruise amenities). While it is docked at Pier 88 for the Super Bowl, workers will deck out the interior of the ship with Bud Light pillows, hand towels, key cards and the like, whilst undertaking an even greater makeover on the exterior.

Super Bowl XLVII will kick off at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb. 2, 2014.

Here is the early forecast for offshore New England while the Getaway is in transit:

ANZ082-160215-
GEORGES BANK...FROM THE NORTHEAST CHANNEL TO THE GREAT SOUTH
CHANNEL INCLUDING WATERS EAST OF CAPE COD...TO THE HAGUE LINE-
915 AM EST WED JAN 15 2014

December 10, 2013

Viking life search scientist Dr. Gilbert Levin has requested a Freedom of Information seach for recent Mars life search data that has been accumulated by NASA through the Curiosity Rover.

December 9, 2013

foia@hq.nasa.gov

HQFOIA Officer
Room 2 X71
300 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20546

ATTN: Ms. Josephine Sibley

Dear Ms. Sibley:

Please accept and respond to this FOIA.
I seek data obtained, but not released to the public, from experiments and analyses performed by the Mars Science Laboratory rover “Curiosity.” Specifically, I request:
1. the data obtained by the liquid extraction method included in SAM for analyzing organic compounds in the Martian surface material and in scrapings from rocks;
2. hi-resolution, close-up images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager of some of the many green spots Curiosity’s released images show on numerous rocks.

I am adjunct professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science) at the Arizona State University, and am Honorary Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, UK.

I was Experimenter of the Viking Mission Labeled Release (LR) life detection experiment landed and successfully performed on Mars in 1976. I and my Co-Experimenter, Dr. Patricia Ann Straat, along with many colleagues, have concluded that the LR detected living microorganisms in the topsoil at both Viking landing sites. The information I seek with this FOIA may be of great import to that conclusion. As a consequence, I believe the requested data should promptly be made available and free of charge inasmuch as the public taxes have already paid for the entire mission. The legacy of Viking includes holding science news conferences soon after acquisition of experiment results.

The Viking LR executed nine tests on Mars. Four were strongly positive, and five were control runs, all of which supported that the positive tests had detected life. Although the pre-mission criteria accepted by NASA as evidence for life were more than satisfied, that interpretation of the data was not accepted. Many alternatives have been raised to explain away the evidence for life over the intervening 37 years. None has withstood scientific scrutiny, although two have persisted: the lack of organic material on Mars as indicated by the failure of the Viking molecular analysis (GCMS) instrument to find any; the supposed lack of liquid water in the surface material. Over the past several years, several scientific papers have concluded that the Viking GCMS may have failed because of inherent problems, or because it lacked sufficient sensitivity. Moreover, it has recently been claimed that organic matter reported by the Viking GCMS was indigenous to Mars and not terrestrial contamination as claimed at the time. Also, several Mars missions, including Curiosity, have confirmed liquid water in the Martian soil in amounts above those supporting microbial life in desert areas on Earth. In recent years, as relevant data from Mars and Earth have accumulated, a number of scientists have come to accept that the Viking LR detected life, but the consensus remains against that conclusion. Unfortunately, since Viking, no life detection experiments have been sent to Mars.

However, more than a score of landers and rovers, none of which were sterilized per COSPAR requirements, have impacted and roamed the surface, impugning future life detection experiments because of possible terrestrial contamination. Therefore, the Viking LR data are the only pristine life detection data we will ever have from Mars. Curiosity contains instruments that can possibly resolve the organics and liquid water issues that have been cited to deny the LR evidence for life.

ChemCam and SAM have the ability to determine the presence of organic matter in soil or rock. SAM contains a liquid extraction method of analyzing for organic compounds without heating the sample that possibly destroyed complex organic matter in the Viking GCMS and the Curiosity GCMS. While Curiosity has reported the possible presence of simple organic compounds, support for the LR would be in the form of more complex organics. This is what the SAM liquid extraction method can deliver. Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012. Knowing the hazards that can befall spacecraft and their communications, it would seem only prudent that critical assays, such as the search for complex organics, be performed early in the mission. Thus, it seems likely these have been done. However, no such results have been reported.

Soon after landing, Curiosity released color images of the site that contained rocks with green patches on them, as was seen by Viking. Spectral analysis of those patches by the Viking Imaging system that measured color frequency, intensity, hue and saturation, found them to be consistent with the same analysis of terrestrial lichen on rocks. However, the Viking cameras did not have the resolution great enough to examine the colored patches for possible indications of biology, such as lobate patterns, thalli or other life-like forms. Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager, with the reported ability to resolve features less than a fraction of the width of a human hair, has that ability. While many thousands of Curiosity’s images have been released, none is of a close-up, hi-resolution image of such a colored patch. The principal investigator of the Curiosity camera systems told me he intended to take such images, so it seems likely this has been done. Despite my personal requests to him, none has been released.

The issue of life beyond Earth, and, specifically life on Mars, remains a high NASA priority. The requested data could have important impact on current and planned planetary investigation programs by the astrobiology community, affecting many millions of dollars in budgets. Not only is the question of whether we are alone of paramount scientific importance, the lay public in the U.S. and worldwide have long had an intense interest in the answer that could better define our place in the universe. For all of these reasons, I hereby request prompt release of the data identified above.

December 03, 2013

Early yesterday morning, the newest high speed catamaran in the Clipper Navigation fleet, the Victoria Clipper IV, was stolen from its berth at Seattle’s Pier 69 by a registered sex offender who later told police he was trying to use the vessel to get to West Seattle. (Why he didn’t just walk or take the bus there is a presumably a question that police detectives have asked him or plan to ask him).

The theft was discovered by Clipper Navigation CEO Darrell Bryan, who happened to be in the company’s offices around the time the Clipper broke away from the dock and quickly realized that none of his captains were aboard piloting the vessel, as herecounted to the Seattle Times and the Victoria Times-Colonist.

Bryan alerted authorities and before long the Seattle Police Department and the Coast Guard were on the scene. After attempting to negotiate with the thief, , a SWAT team was able to board the Clipper IV and take Samuel K. McDonough into custody without further incident. He is currently being held in the King County Jail.

The theft of the Clipper IV is already a contender for the most bizarre story of the year. It’s not every day that an eight million dollar high speed passenger ferry is stolen. As Bryan wryly noted, it’s actually the first time in the nearly three decade history of the company that someone has taken one of its vessels.

But the incident is also a sobering reminder that we need stronger security measures in place to protect our ports, including the Port of Seattle.

Our two U.S. Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, have been pretty vocal over the years about the need to bolster port security, and the rest of us would do well to listen when they are speaking on the subject.

While we don’t know all of the facts of this case yet, police allege that McDonough sneaked onto Clipper Navigation’s premises, got aboard the Clipper IV, entered the ship’s wheelhouse, and started its engines… all without being stopped. Supposedly, he slipped into the restricted area of Pier 69 by jumping the fence adjacent to the sales kiosk, which is not topped with barbed wire.

The vessel isn’t locked because it’s in a secure perimeter, but the wheelhouse should have been locked, he said.

“There is a locking mechanism, and you have to have the code to get in,” he said.

“Tomorrow morning we will be going through everything. We’ll be looking at the lessons learned and what can we do to prevent this from happening for another 28 years.”

That “secure perimeter” evidently wasn’t very secure, since it was breached by a mentally troubled sex offender in the dark of night.

In the future, Clipper Navigation shouldn’t assume it is okay to leave its vessels unlocked simply because they are in berths that are behind fences and watched by surveillance cameras. Had the Clipper IV been locked, McDonough would not have been able to simply walk on board and make his way to the wheelhouse.

Had the wheelhouse been properly secured, McDonough would not have been able to get inside and access the ship’s controls.

Worse, the key to start the engines was apparently in the unlocked wheelhouse… and maybe even in the ignition. (Bryan told The Seattle Times a key is needed to start the Clipper IV. He did not confirm whether the key had been left in the wheelhouse, but we suspect that’s what might have happened).

Bryan told Seattle television stations that the company will move quickly to fix the fence by the sales kiosk so it can’t be jumped anymore. That’s a good idea, but an even better one would be a top-to-bottom review of security procedures. Tough questions need to be asked and answered.

For instance, how is it that McDonough was not noticed until he was maneuvering the Clipper IV away from the dock, ripping off cleats in the process? (Security cameras aren’t very useful if someone isn’t monitoring them).

And why had the wheelhouse been left unlocked?

Does the rationale for leaving the vessels accessible when not in use make sense any more, given what happened yesterday? If the vessel had been secured, it could have stopped McDonough from making it to the unlocked wheelhouse.

The Clipper IV is one of the world’s fastest watercraft. Built in Bergen, Norway, and registered in Nassau – presumably for tax purposes – it is powered by a waterjet propulsion system and can travel at speeds of up to thirty-five miles per hour. It provides convenient ferry service between Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia.

The Clipper IV is a catamaran, meaning it has multiple hulls. It is said to be difficult to operate, and it can’t be started up just by turning a key.

McDonough apparently was clever enough to figure out Clipper Navigation’s equivalent of a preflight checklist and start up the ship. But he did not have the skill to drive it properly, and as a result it appeared as if the Clipper IV was adrift, going in circles. Authorities called McDonough’s short voyage a joyride.

I’ve ridden the Clipper before, and it is a very cool boat. It can traverse the waters between Seattle and Victoria very quickly. The crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca can be bumpy, but Puget Sound waters are reasonably calm most of the time.

Much attention has been paid in recent years to bolstering security procedures for air, rail, and marine passengers, to the point where (particularly in airports) we havesecurity theater on a grand scale. It’s more for show than for effect.

Clipper Navigation CEO Darrell Bryan might consider hiring the the equivalent of a hacker or team of hackers and seeing if they can penetrate the company’s defenses when most of the company’s workers are off-duty. Such an exercise could help the company better identify its vulnerabilities. A patched fence may stop the next Samuel K. McDonough, but what about someone who cuts through the fence, or approaches from the water in a kayak or rowboat?

Our ports are the gateways to our country and our continent for millions of people and for goods and materials made abroad. Their security ought to be of paramount importance, and it doesn’t seem like it is. When a multimillion dollar passenger ferry can be stolen from its dock by one man in the middle of the night despite being berthed in what’s considered a secure perimeter, it’s a sign that our port security is not robust enough. This is a serious problem we need to address, and soon.

November 22, 2013

Panama Canal May be a Game-Changer Says FMC Commissioner

MarineLink.com

Thursday, November 21, 2013

William P. Doyle: Photo credit FMC

FMC Commissioner William P. Doyle, addressed the Executive Committee of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NGLA) in Little Rock, Arkansas: Topic – "Is Your State Ready for a Historic Transformation of Transportation, Energy, & Agriculture?" The text of the Commissioner's seminal speech follows:Panel Context:The Panama Canal may remake world trade patterns. To be finished in 2015, the $5-billion expansion of the Panama Canal will create a third lane accommodating mega-ships nearly three times larger than previously passable and this may significantly reduce shipping time to Asia. The expansion impacts state ports, rail lines, trucking and cargo movement from the south and east to the west. The U.S., once an importer of natural gas, could see new shale gas development, LNG projects, and the faster shipping lanes open new Asian markets.

OpeningI am going to comment on whether the Panama Canal Expansion will be a game changer. Next, I will discuss what the Administration has done and plans to do for nationwide ports, how Liquefied Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids exports may benefit, and other transportation and economic impacts.

First, the expansion of the Panama Canal may be a game changer. Ports in the United States are preparing for increased cargo volumes from larger ships that will transit the Canal. If utilized to its fullest potential, the Canal would allow the United States the opportunity to compete in the global energy market with products manufactured and produced in America.

Obama Administration’s Regulatory Focus in the U.S. for the Panama CanalThe Panama Canal expansion fits in well with the Obama Administration’s focus on manufacturing, exports, and job creation.

The expansion will enable a doubling in the tonnage of trade that can pass through the Canal. In terms of ship size, the canal’s expansion will allow a 160% increase in the size of ships able to transit the Panama Canal.

The Obama Administration, members of Congress and state and local officials support the tremendous economic, business, job-supporting, energy and transportation related opportunities the expanded canal will bring to the United States.

To meet the Canal’s expansion, ports in the U.S. are deepening their shipping channels and harbors, increasing dock facilities, and installing new cranes to accommodate larger ships and much greater cargo volumes. And the modernization of U.S. ports is not just happening on the East and Gulf Coast — West Coast ports are also updating their infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels.

In September, the Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, announced its grants from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2013 discretionary program. This program distributed approximately $474 million for transportation projects in 37 states. Of that amount, nearly 45% of the funding will be utilized for port and rail improvements.

Last year the Administration announced that it would expedite the federal permitting processes for the Port of Jacksonville, the Port of Miami, the Port of Savannah, the Port of New York and New Jersey, and the Port of Charleston.

On March 29, 2013, in the Port of Miami, Florida, President Obama outlined a program of transportation bonds and other measures to encourage infrastructure improvements on roads, bridges, and ports.

On May 17, 2013, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum to modernize the federal infrastructure permitting process, cutting timelines in half for major infrastructure projects while creating incentives for better outcomes for communities and the environment.

And this week, Vice President Joe Biden is leading a U.S. delegation in Panama to view construction progress on the widening of the Canal.

Liquefied Natural GasI’d like to address exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). When the Panama Canal expansion project began in 2007, U.S. and state regulators were swamped with applications for LNG import terminals. At that time, America was positioning itself to become a major importer of LNG. In fact, in 2007, the U.S. imported nearly 771 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG. This made the United States the fourth largest importer of natural gas.That all changed in 2008, when it became clear that the independent natural gas producers in the U.S. could produce high quantities of natural gas extracted from shale basins in states like Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

As a result, LNG imports have collapsed. The peak import month for LNG was in April of 2007 when we imported 98.7 Bcf. This year the imports on a monthly basis have been in the range of the 5 – 6 Bcf/month, with April’s historic low of 5.2 Bcf.

With so much natural gas being produced in the U.S., energy companies began applying for export licenses for LNG terminals. Last week the Department of Energy conditionally approved its 5th application to supply LNG to non-FTA countries.How does domestically produced natural gas compete in the export market?Once the expanded Panama Canal opens, the distance to ship U.S. natural gas from the Gulf Coast of the United States to Asia will decrease by 9,000 miles. Only 21 of the existing global fleet of 370 LNG tankers can currently fit through the Panama Canal. None are currently using the Canal.However, more than 80 % of the tankers will be able to make the passage through the Canal once the widening is complete. The U.S. will be competing with Australia, Russia, East Africa and the Middle East as a natural gas supplier for Asia.

Japan is the largest importer of LNG. It has significantly increased its demand since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011 hindered its nuclear power operations.Japanese officials are interested in learning more about the tolls and cost structure associated with LNG tankers transiting the Canal.

It is important that the toll structure and economics work for all parties-- Panama wants LNG business which it never really planned on when it began the expansion project – natural gas produced in the U.S. must compete on the world market with LNG from Russia, Australia and the Middle East - and increasing demand makes Asia the primary market for natural gas.

Natural Gas LiquidsThere is another major economic, manufacturing, export and jobs producing renaissance currently going in the U.S.—and it can only get better with the opening of the expanded Panama Canal.Due in large part to shale natural gas production, U.S. exports of natural gas liquids (NGLs) are at an all-time high. NGLs include ethane, butane, propane, isobutene and pentane. The end use products of NGLs include plastic bags, detergent, home heating, small stoves, refrigeration, synthetic rubber, aerosol and gasoline.

Deliveries of NGLs or fuels to foreign buyers averaged 555,000 barrels a day in July. According to U.S. government data, that is the largest monthly delivery of NGLs since 1981 (Bloomberg).According to U.S. Customs data, China’s imports of NGLs increased between 20 and 25 percent this August as compared to the same month last year (Ibid).

A recent projection indicates that U.S. exports of NGLs would jump to 20 million metric tons by 2020 from the current 5 million tons, making the United States the world’s largest exporter -- ahead of both Qatar and Saudi Arabia (Ibid).

New NGL terminals like the Mariner East Pipeline project by Sunoco Logistics Partners in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania are being considered due to increased production in Appalachia. Mariner East would deliver propane and ethane from the Marcellus shale formation to the Marcus Hook, PA terminal for export.When you hear President Obama talk about supertankers, and other Administration officials talk about dredging the channels and harbors, and Governors talk about their port related infrastructure improvements—they are talking in part about preparing for Very Large Gas Carriers otherwise known as VLGCs that will be exporting U.S. manufactured NGLs.

Right now the VLGCs leaving the East and Gulf Coast of the U.S. for Asia markets must travel around Cape Horn at the bottom-tip of South America or head East through the Suez Canal.

As it stands now less than 20 percent of VLGC world fleet can fit through the Panama Canal—and only about 4 percent use it. Once completed the Canal would be able to accommodate the entire VLGC fleet.What is unfolding in the maritime and energy related sector is truly amazing. Six years ago you’d have been laughed at if you proposed that the U.S. could become a major competitor on the LNG export market. The Panama Canal’s expansion model never accounted for increased business related to VLGCs and LNG tankers.

The development of U.S. natural gas resources, together with the Panama Canal Expansion, is good news for the U.S. energy and transportation landscape. With increased exports, our balance of trade will improve helping to strengthen our energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country.

The Commissioner has appended a list of the sources drawn on in his speech at: www.fmc.gov/assets/1/Page/SoucesUsedLtGovSpeech.pdf